Upland alumni and Stockton Ports shortstop, Daniel Robertson has his portrait taken on Friday, April 18, 2014 at the San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino, Ca. (Micah Escamilla for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

SAN BERNARDINO — It’s a routine that Daniel Robertson had done numerous times before, only now he adds six initials to it that mean everything to him.

The former Upland High star returned to the Inland Empire for three days, Thursday-Saturday, as a shortstop for the Stockton Ports, playing in San Manuel Stadium against the 66ers.

“It’s definitely going to be exciting to play here in front of friends and family,” Robertson said at the beginning of the series. “Just being in the hometown. … There’s going to be adrenaline flowing.”

The series will be the closest Robertson plays to his hometown until returning to San Bernardino from July 19-21. Stockton doesn’t play in Rancho Cucamonga until Aug. 22-24.

So with that in mind, Robertson was proactive in speaking earlier in the week to manager Ryan Christenson, himself a Riverside Arlington High graduate.

“I told him I was playing close to home and if it would be possible for me to play all three games,” Robertson said. “He told me he was going to rest me one of those games, but instead, he’d rest me one before that.”

But there is one person missing from the homecoming: Daniel’s father Don, who passed away last September from non-smoking lung cancer after he was initially diagnosed in 2010.

“Every day I think about him,” Robertson said. “He was always there for me, with travel ball, teaching me.”

So, Robertson reminds himself of his father by writing on the tape he uses for his left wrist before every game: “DRR” and “BYB.”

The “DRR” is his father’s initials, the “BYB” stands for “believe you belong.”

“That’s what my dad used to always tell me,” Daniel said.

Clearly, he does belong so far.

Robertson, a supplemental first-round pick by the Oakland A’s out of Upland in 2012, has been good so far.

In his first pro season, he batted .297 with four home runs in 29 games in the rookie-level Arizona League. He struggled upon his promotion later in 2012 with short-season Single-A Vermont, batting .181 in 26 games.

But he took another step forward as a 19-year-old at low Single-A Beloit last year, batting .277 with nine home runs in 101 games. He entered the season as Oakland’s No. 10 prospect according to Baseball America.

And he’s off to a good start at this level as well. Entering Saturday, the 6-foot-1 Robertson was batting .317 with a .406 on-base percentage and four doubles and a home run in 14 games.

According to Baseball America, “a move to third base may be inevitable with (No. 1 prospect) Addison Russell ahead of him in the organization, and whether he will profile at third base depends on his power development.”

“I’ve played one game at third base this year and I know that (permanent move) might happen. But I want to play at shortstop for as long as I can,” he said.

Robertson hadn’t committed any errors this season entering Saturday, so his defense has been good, in addition to his hitting. So, one area he’d like to improve? Baserunning, even though Oakland doesn’t value steals and Robertson doesn’t have one this year.

“I want to do a better job of anticipating balls in the dirt, taking the extra base when I have the chance,” he said.

While some players enter the California League understandably feeling anxious because time is not on their side, there is no such pressure for the 20-year-old Robertson.

“I’m not worried about going up, just playing my game,” he said.

But this weekend was about enjoying his first trip home as a pro, with at least 40 friends and family there to watch him play in each game. He’ll also get to spend Easter Sunday with his family for today’s off day before returning to Stockton.

“So far, it’s been a great experience, getting a lot of love and support from all my family and long time family friends coming out to watch has been awesome,” Robertson wrote via text after Friday’s game. “I’m loving the experience to get to play in my hometown and can’t wait to get back down here to do it again later in the season.”

Pete Marshall started his career as a freelancer for The Sun in 1991, then later was hired full time by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in 1995. Since then he has covered a variety of sports for the Daily Bulletin and The Sun, primarily high school sports and minor league baseball. He's been doing it long enough that he's now covering the children of student-athletes he covered when he first started.

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